TRITON and Top Water equals exciting action!

by Mike Frennette

We all fish with different techniques; spinner baits, spoons, soft plastics, crank baits, etc. and well the most exciting of all……The Top Water Strike. Is it the anticipation that sends your blood pressure over the roof, prior to the strike? Or the explosiveness of the strike itself that just captivates the minds of all anglers. Whether your preference is salt or fresh almost any angler will attest that “Top Water” if it can be done, would be the number one choice. Oh, and did I tell you that it really doesn’t matter what species your pursuing, a top water strike is just that, a top water strike. Usually aggressive and of course highly visual, how can it not be one of the favorites, if not number one. Can you see I am getting excited just talking about it and that’s because we have been slamming the Giant Reds on top water; 25-45 pounds of pure strength that will send shivers down your spine….. Eye popping strikes, the kind of strike you really have to keep your composure with. Well let’s get down to it. Here are a couple of tips that may help your next fishing trip become a success.

Can you use top water baits under every condition at any time. I guess you could but if you did you probably would limit your success rate…….Knowing when is essential….. Timing, conditions and presentation could all be relative to your success.

Pods of bait on the surface, calm waters, over cast days, diving birds early morning and late afternoon any of these conditions, can get me fired up! Now you don’t need to have all of these conditions to make it work, just one piece of the recipe, is all that’s needed. OK if you find all at the same time………Just get the net, cause its going to be “Big Time”….Oh and by the way, remember I just mentioned “over cast days”, really like these days as cloudy days are perfect to cast top water all day. But here is the variable: water movement, bait on the surface, birds diving….This is when it doesn’t matter what time of the day it is, fire away!

There are a number of baits that are on the market and yes, they probably all work but my favorite are the baits that you can “walk the dog” with. What ever the reason is, that wiggle waggle motion coming across the water is just so enticing. C,mon you know exactly what I mean. When you are twitching your wrist and that soft rod tip is making that surface bait dance so seductively, you just know a strike is imminent. By the way, using a rod that has a soft tip is really what I like as it enhances that bait action and is really fore giving when the strike occurs. A stiff rod could result in missed strikes. 7’ rods are perfect for this; light action to light/medium action rods are perfect.

Whether you are a monofilament or braided type of guy it’s OK. Only hint here is that if you are using Braid, tack on about 12-18 inches of mono or flora-carbon to the end of the braid as this segment of mono will give your bait more action than having it tied directly to the braid.

Personally I like to work my bait back to me fairly slow and steady. Lots of times a fish will come up swirl, miss the bait, don’t know how they do, but if that happens, what I like to do is stop the bait and twitch my wrist so that the bait stays in one spot but continues its side-to-side action. To the fish it appears that he has wounded the baitfish and there is a good chance he will turn around and grab it.

Don’t forget, if you see the birds diving, bait on the surface, or possibly you have marked fish just below the surface, position your boat just far enough away so that you can present your bait without spooking anything. Twitch your bait, slow retrieve, and hang on its going to happen. Big hint here; don’t set the hook until you feel pressure, cause when your watching the show, your first instinct will be to “load up” as soon as you see the strike. “Feel the bite, then you strike”.

Now all that is left is for you to do, is to fire up your TRITON and get after it!